A Blessing in Disguise
by aprild840
Summary: Harry and Hermione make a few mistakes that lead them to a very unexpected end. These mistakes end up being not regrets but blessings in disguise.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first story, so please bear with me. This story is AU from the Ministry incident at the end of Fifth year onwards.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters container within, or profit from their use in any form. All characters and the groundwork of the plot line belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.

I was in horrible pain. Oh, how I wanted the pain to end, but I could not yet see the light at the end of the tunnel. "Come on, just a little bit more, push for me, push. You are doing so well." Yeah, right, if you only knew, I think to myself as I do what Madam Pomphrey commanded and push with the contraction.

I had been in labor now for 15 hours, and pushing for about 2 of those hours now. I knew what I was doing, and was ready to have this baby out of me. However, this baby did not seem to be in any hurry to make its appearance, regardless of what I thought or wanted.

"AARRGH! Bloody Hell, this hurts!" I scream, bearing down with all my strength doing my best to push this infant out of me. Madam Pomphrey isn't making things easy for me either as she is doing her best to keep me calm and focused, or Harry for that matter.

"It is okay honey, this will be over soon", see what I mean, he doesn't know what he is talking about. He doesn't know how much I hurt, or the pain he has put me through.

"Just shut up Harry, and don't think you ever will get to touch me again, I hate you!" The look on Harry's face is priceless, Madam Pomphrey just laughs as she says, "Oh, we are getting closer, just ignore her dear, she really doesn't mean it." Harry doesn't look like he believes her but relaxes slightly.

Finally, the contraction ends, I get a small break, but I can tell it will not be long before the next contraction comes. Hopefully that means we are getting closer, I really hope so. I am tired, and I hurt. I really wish Madam Pomphrey could have given me something for the pain, but she told me that it would interfere with mine and the baby's magic so I have to suffer and listen to these idiots.

Oh, here we go again, another contraction, and this one hurts worse than any others so far. Nowhere, in any of my research, did it mention how bad the pain of delivering a child hurts. Yeah, it says that there is some pain, but it does not tell how much delivering the baby hurts from the contractions as well as from the pushing.

"That's right, push for me, push." I push, and push some more. But this one hurts, quite a bit more than any of the others so far. "That's right, come on, I think I can see the head." Yay! We are getting closer, but it hurts so badly. That contraction comes to an end, Madam Pomphrey says, okay, take a short break then I need a nice big push when you are ready." When I am ready? How about now?

And right on cue, another miserable contraction. I push harder than I have so far, and feel like I am being ripped open from the inside. "AARRR, BLOODY, MERLIN, MOTHER OF GOD, AAARRGGGH!"

"That's it, just a little bit more, here comes the head. Steady, steady, okay, the head is out. Hold it there one second, don't push." Really? Don't push; don't you realize how much pain I am in right now? Why did you tell me to stop all of a sudden? "Okay, one more good solid push for me, that's it. Good job."

"WWHHHHAAAA!" Finally, my baby is out. Madam Pomphrey lays the baby on my chest as she says, "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Potter. You have a beautiful baby girl." I look down and get a glance at my daughter to see curly black hair, and dark brown eyes just like mine. I glance at Harry to see the biggest smile on his face, I have given him what he always wanted, a family.

We start to count her fingers and toes when I feel like someone punched me in the stomach and I scream. Madam Pomphrey looks at me with a look of concern, puts her hand on my stomach then smiles. "Well what do you know twins. Give me just a minute to clean up your daughter and we can see about getting this little surprise delivered."

"What?" me and Harry holler at the same time. I don't believe it. There is another baby in me that I have to push out, just when I thought I was done. Not only that, but this one hurts worse than the first. Madam Pomphrey hurriedly cut the cord to our daughter, cleans her up and lays her in a bassinet that had already been prepared for her and then turns back to me.

I already know what to do and have started pushing. "I hate you Harry, AARRGG!" I swear, I don't know why but this baby hurts worse, a lot worse. That contraction ends, and very quickly a new contraction begins, before I am ready for it. I push, and push, and once again feel like I am making no progress.

Fifteen minutes later, I am starting to get concerned. I have been pushing like crazy and I feel like we are no closer to delivering than I was when these contractions first started. The look on Madam Pomphrey's face is not encouraging either. My only question is how did we not know that there were two babies? She did magical ultrasounds, so shouldn't she have been able to see two babies, or hear duplicate heartbeats? All of a sudden, at the end of the most recent contraction, Madam Pomphrey's face lights up.

"This baby is breech, I think I can see the feet. Keep pushing like you have been, this baby will be out in no time." Oh, well, that is nice to know. I read about breech births in my research trying to prepare myself for delivery. It did mention that breech births are dangerous and tend to hurt worse than normal births. I don't see though how it could hurt worse than the birth of our daughter. I am still sore from her birth, and this baby is not helping things either. I am hurting, and a new contraction begins which just makes the pain worse.

Ten minutes later, I am thinking this baby is in no hurry to make its appearance into the world, and that its goal is to cause me pain. I think this delivery is hurting worse than its sister's and this baby is still no closer to being born than it was when the contractions first started. Madam Pomphrey seems to think that the delivery is progressing just fine, "You are doing good dear. You are just so small that it is taking slightly longer to get this baby born. But I can definitely see its feet. Just a few more good pushes and we will have another baby."

Yet another five minutes of contractions go by, and still no baby. I am ready to kill Harry, and Madam Pomphrey. They are both encouraging me, but it is just irritating me more than it is helping. "Would you both just shut up!?" I finally just scream. Madam Pomphrey just laughs, but Harry starts to back away. "Oh no you don't, you got me here, now you have to deal with me." Harry returns back to me, just as the next contraction begins.

"That is it, good job, just a little bit more." I can feel the baby move further down the birth canal as the pain increases. Two more contractions later and a bunch of screaming, finally the second baby is born, a full 33 minutes after its sister. I can finally rest and Harry and I can meet our children. Madam Pomphrey places the new baby on my stomach as she states, "Well done, you now have two beautiful daughters. Now, relax for a few minutes."

Harry comes in close and we inspect our new daughter. She looks just like her sister at first glance, with curly black hair and dark brown eyes. However, she is smaller than her sister and just looks more fragile. I can see now how we never saw her in the ultrasounds. Her sister is bigger than her and just hid her.

Madam Pomphrey brings our other daughter back to us and takes baby number 2 away to clean. Before leaving, she shows me how to breastfeed baby number 1, who is by this point hungry as can be and s screaming her head off. By the time, I finish breastfeeding and burping the first baby Madam Pomphrey is back with the second one. I hand our first daughter to Harry and begin breastfeeding our other daughter who despite her little size eats like a little pig. Finally, she is finished eating and is burped and begins to go to sleep.

During all this, Madam Pomphrey has been cleaning up me and the hospital wing. Finally, it is time for me and Harry and our new little family to go to sleep for a little bit. Mine and Harry's little mistake has turned into a blessing, and though we have some work ahead of us trying to take care of twins and be in school, I have a feeling we won't regret making the decisions that have brought us to his point.


	2. Chapter 2

I had met Harry when we were on the train heading to Hogwarts for our first year of schooling to become fully qualified witches and wizards. I was nervous to be meeting new people, and very excited to be starting a new school. I had never had any friends before because everyone always made fun of me. I was very smart, and everyone called me a teacher's pet and bookworm. It was not my fault that I had a photographic memory and also had the brain to use it. I enjoy school and learning new things.

When I found out I was a witch, I had my mom and dad take me that very day to Diagon Alley to buy my school supplies. I started reading my books and studying that night. I wasn't only studying school books though, I also bought plenty of books about the wizarding culture trying to get an idea of the new world that I was entering into. From the very beginning I read about a famous boy that was my age by the name of Harry Potter. He had defeated the evil wizard Voldemort as only a young infant and would be starting Hogwarts this year also. I was very eager to meet him, but was afraid that he would not look me as so many other kids our age. I was worried that he would have many other friends already and would be too popular to want me to be his friend.

So, my first time meeting Harry I was trying to help a boy, named Neville find his lost toad. I ran into him in a carriage with a boy named Ron, and did not look as well cared for as I was expecting. His clothes looked like they were five sizes too big and were full of holes. His glasses were taped together and once I got a good look at him I realized that he was all skin and bones. However, I looked over all this thinking that he liked to dress that way and was in a growth spurt. I then tried to impress him with my knowledge of the wizarding world and then fixed his glasses with a spell that I had read about in our school books. He did not look impressed at all, but actually annoyed. I was afraid that I had lost my chance of friendship.

I kept trying during the first two weeks of school to become his friend, but did not realize I was his friend from almost the beginning. He was always very nice to me, and did not seem to mind too much when I would try to help him out. Ron was always wanting to argue with me, and did not like me, but I was used to that. I wanted Harry to be my friend, so that I could say I was friends with someone famous. However, by the end of our first year my mindset was changed. I wanted to be friends with Harry not because of him being famous but because of how loyal he was to me and Ron as his friends.

My first crush was on Harry at the end of first year, and it continued all the way through fourth year. However, I do not think Harry ever realized I had a crush on him. I had by this point found out how horribly his relatives treated him, and how little he thought of himself as a result. We went to save the philosopher's stone at the end of first year, and I gave him a kiss on the cheek and told him to be careful before I had to leave him to fetch Dumbledore. I was shocked when he pulled away from me slightly and acted surprised that I would act like that. It just further cemented my crush on him, and made me make a goal to help him realize that he was a good person that somebody could love easily. I was so scared for him when he came back from the chamber almost dead, and Madam Pomphrey had to chase me out of the hospital wing that night because I did not want to leave his side.

Each year after that, Harry would get into one adventure or another, and every year I would be scared out of my mind. Second year, it was the run in with the basilisk. Third year, it was his reaction to the dementors and the worry about Sirius Black coming after him. Fourth year was the worst with his forced participation in the Triwizard Tournament. Fifth year, this most recent year was just horrible though with the way Professor Umbridge treated Harry. However, through everything I got to see more of how he was as a person and began to fall in love with him, although I did not realize it at the time.

During our second year, when I got turned into a partial cat from the polyjuice potion accident, Harry was so nice to me and stayed my friend the entire time. He did not laugh at me, unlike Ron. He took me to the hospital wing, and then visited me every day until I was released. He was actually my only visitor during this time. Some days he could only stay a few minutes, but he always made sure to bring me my homework assignments and spend a few minutes talking to me. I appreciated him so much during this time. Then, not but a few months after getting released from the hospital wing after that incident I get put back in the hospital wing from being petrified. Nobody realized it at the time, but I could hear and feel everything that was going on around me although I could not respond. It was like being a piece of stone that was not alive and could do nothing, although I was fully aware of everything around me. I knew each time Harry came to see me in the hospital wing, even if he had to sneak in and visit me during the middle of the night. I heard him tell me that he missed me and was worried about me. I felt him grab hold of my hand each time, like he was trying to reassure himself I was fine. At the end of my petrification, the first person I went to see was Harry, and the look on his face was of nothing but relief.

Third year, I went to see Harry every time he was in the hospital wing and tried to show him what he meant to me. However, he still did not think of me as anything more than a friend, and some days I felt like I was more of a sister to him than a friend. The summer between third and fourth year, my mom sat me down and had "The Talk" with me. This honestly wasn't too bad since we were very close anyways. We used to be able to talk about anything and everything. It was during this talk that she pulled out all the letters I had ever sent home from Hogwarts. She pointed out to me that in every letter I mention Harry at least once, if I don't spend at least half the letter talking about him. My mom helped me to see that I was falling in love with Harry and gave me some tips on how to get him to notice me.

So, fourth year started and I had all sorts of ideas of how to get Harry's attention. None of the ideas worked. I thought maybe the Yule Ball would be the trick to get Harry to see me as more than just his friend and maybe kick off a relationship. Harry never once asked me to be his date for the ball. Instead, I was pursued by the famous quidditch player, Victor Krum, so I decided to take my attention off Harry and try to find another boy. I went to the ball with Victor, but both of us knew by the end of the night that it was useless to try be more than friends. Victor was the perfect gentleman all night, but knew almost from the beginning that my heart was already spoken for. The look on Harry's face when he first saw me dressed up gave me some hope, but it never went beyond that. He watched me all night long, but he never said more than two words to me all night long. He later would tell me that he thought I was with Victor, so therefore did not have a chance.

I worked with Harry all during fourth year helping him to prepare for each task. I was so worried about him when it came time for that final one though. I had a feeling something would happen, so was not surprised when at the end of the maze he disappeared along with Cedric after touching the cup. However, this did not mean that I was scared out of my mind until I was able to get to his side a few hours later when he was in the hospital wing and could reassure myself that he came out of another adventure alive yet again.

Fifth year was one nightmare after another. Every time I turned around Harry was in detention for one thing or another. I would wait up for him every night until he came in. I did my best to just be his best friend during this time but my heart ached for him. I wished I could help him in some way. However nothing I did seemed to help. To make things worse, he decided to have his first crush on no one other than Cho Chang, the Chinese beauty. I felt like my heart would break every time he would lose his brain staring at that girl. I felt like crying the night after the DA meeting when he stayed after with her for almost thirty minutes, and he came back with a star struck look on his face. However, I could not hardly keep from laughing when I found out that he did not like the kiss. I knew then that there was some hope for me, especially when he left a date with her to come see me. However, I did not realize how much hope there was until the night the Sirius died at the end of our OWLS. This is when our story really begins.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry and I were in the middle of the Department of mysteries along with four of our other friends. Harry had come here to save his godfather after receiving a vision from Voldemort that his godfather was being held hostage. I tried to convince Harry that it was a trap, but as usual Harry did not listen so I went along to try to keep Harry safe.

We were separated from the others in our group and were dueling a couple of the Death Eaters. Harry and I could hear the screams of our friend and were trying to get to them, but could not get past the two Death Eaters we were up against. Every time we thought we had the upper hand, one of them would get the better of us. I was dueling Dolohav while Harry was dueling Jugson. I saw Dolohav begin to cast a spell, but the only thing I could cast quickly enough to cut him off was the silencing spell. "Silencio" I yelled, making Dolohav silent but I realized a moment too late that it would not prevent him from being able to finish completing the spell. I tried to dodge but was a moment too slow in moving. I saw the purple light come towards me and looked at Harry just in time to see the look of shock on his face. As I fell unconscious I saw him blast both Death Eaters out of the way with nothing but pure magic in his hurry to get to me, the look on his face one of nothing but concern.

The next thing I knew was waking up in the hospital wing back at Hogwarts late the following evening. The first thing I saw upon looking up was Harry sitting right beside me, watching me with concern. He noticed the moment I opened my eyes and yelled from Madam Pomphrey, telling her that I was awake. He then leaned down next to me as he asked me how I felt and apologized for putting me in danger.

Madam Pomphrey quickly ushered Harry away from the hospital wing so she could check me over. She spent a good while telling me that the spell had caused some damage to my internal organs and that I would be required to take many potions several times a day to reverse the damage. She cautioned me to take it easy over the next few weeks and not over exert myself. After she finished with me, she went to the door of the hospital wing and Harry was curled up beside the door waiting to see me. She said to Harry as he walked towards my bed , "I will allow you to spend ten minutes with Hermione before she has to rest."

Harry walked over to me and stood over my bed. Instead of sitting, he kneeled beside me on both of his knees like he was begging and proceeded to spend a couple of minutes apologizing. "I am so sorry for placing you in danger. I should not have allowed you to come with me. If you had stayed here then you would not have been hit by that spell. I was so scared that you had died and that I would lose you. Please forgive me, please." After reassuring him that I was not mad at him I got him to get up off the floor and sit down in the chair beside my bed. I was so hopeful that his heartfelt apology meant that he had feelings for me, but did not allow myself to dwell on these thoughts. I knew Harry well enough to know that he would tell me once he realized he had feelings for me.

We talked for a good fifteen minutes before Madam Pomphrey came out and told Harry that he needed to go back to dorm for the night. Before he left, he leaned down and gave me a hug and a kiss on the forehead, and squeezed my hand. He told me he would be back in the morning and to get some rest. Once Harry left, Madam Pomphrey gave me my potions for the night and put me to bed.

First thing in the morning, before I was awake again, Harry was back in the hospital wing, so that the first thing I saw upon opening my eyes was again Harry. I do not know whether he waited till the sun was up and curfew was over, or if he snuck in with his invisibility cloak and fell asleep beside my bed. Considering he had fell asleep in the chair beside me, I think he snuck in and fell back to sleep while watching me. Madam Pomphrey came out of her office just a minute later while I was still debating whether or not to wake him up. She did not look at all surprised to see Harry sitting in the chair, and told me that she found him asleep in the exact same spot the previous morning. She gave me my morning potions, asked me how I was feeling then went back to her office.

`Within a few minutes, I woke Harry, and he looked sheepish at being caught sleeping beside my bed in a chair. The first words out of his mouth were, "Hermione, I had to make sure that you were okay. I had a nightmare that you had been killed in the Ministry, so I had to come down and see you to make sure that you were still here." How was I supposed to respond to that? I just reassured him that I was fine and was still here for him. He went to breakfast about an hour later, was gone just long enough to eat and was back within thirty minutes. We spent the morning talking about everything. At one point I asked him about what happened at the ministry after I had been knocked unconscious.

I was shocked at the story he told me. "I was so worried about you, because the look on your face was one of shock, concern and pain. I ran to you as quick as I could once I saw you get hit. I didn't want to be bothered with Jugson and Dolohav anymore , I just waved my hand, and pushed them away from me. Dumbledore told me that it was accidental magic caused because of concern for a loved one. He told me that they were expected to be unconscious for another couple days because of how much force I had put into the magic. He said that he had not seen magic that strong since my mom protected me from Voldemort and allowed herself to be killed. I ran to you and immediately checked you for injuries. You didn't appear to be bleeding and I couldn't find any obvious injuries. I just picked you up and ran. Along the way I found Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna. Apparently all the Death Eaters present fell down at the same time as I knocked out Jugson and Dolohav. I just made sure they were okay and kept running. I made it to the foyer at the same time the Order was arriving. They wanted to take you from me, but I wouldn't let them. I made them bring both you and me back here to Hogwarts by portkey. We were dropped off here in the hospital wing, and I refused to let anyone touch you besides Madam Pomphrey. I had to be stunned so Madam Pomphrey so she could treat you and they could check me over. When Madam Pomphrey came over to check me out she found some surprising results. She found that my connection with Voldemort had been broken as a result of my magical outburst and because of that a bind on my magical core had been broken. I am not allowed to use magic until school starts back in September to give my magical core time to re-stabilize."

I did not know what to think of this. I knew what magic Harry was referring to, we learned about it in our Arithmancy class. It is called love magic, and can only be performed by someone under great distress out of concern for a loved one. An example of this is what Harry's mom did to save Harry from Voldemort by giving herself as a sacrifice. I am just shocked that Harry would have enough love for me to be able to produce this magic. I also was happy to hear that his connection with Voldemort was broke, because that meant there would not be any more visions and that the bind on his magic was broke.

The next words out of Harry's mouth were even more of a shocker. "Hermione, almost losing you the other night made me realize that I like you a lot. Would you be my girlfriend?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Yes" I yelled to Harry, once I got over my shock. I was not expecting Harry to ask me to be his girlfriend, because he had not before the other night realized his feelings for me. I was elated to know that he really cared for me enough to want to be my boyfriend. I also was nervous though, because I did not know what to expect. He was my first and only love and did not know how he would be as a boyfriend. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, and loved him enough to be with him. After his story, I knew that he had the love for me, I just wasn't sure if he would realize the depth of his love, or if he would be happy with me, the bookworm and know it all. It seems as if Harry was able to read my face and sense my feelings because he answered my question that I did not have to ask.

"I know this may come as a shock to you, but I have liked you as more than a friend for a while. For the longest time you were my best friend and like the sister that I never had. But, at some point that changed without me realizing it and I began to notice you. I was so shocked at the Yule Ball to see the body in that dress that you normally cover up with your clothes and robes. I liked what I saw that night, but thought that I was just being a normal teenage boy and well you know. This past year though, with the exception of that time I had the crush on Cho, I have liked you more and more. I don't know anything about love because of the way that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia have treated me, so I can't say that I love you. I might love you, but I don't know because I don't know what love is. You will just have to deal with me as I learn to be a good boyfriend. Please, help me to know what I need to do to make you happy."

Harry didn't know it, but he already was a perfect boyfriend in my book. Most boys would not ask for help, but would assume they knew what they were doing. I knew I would do everything possible to keep Harry and make him as happy as happy as he would make me.

"Harry, I think that you are not going to have any problem making me happy. You are concerned about my happiness, which my mom always says is the first step to keeping your partner happy." Harry's face lit up, like he was surprised that he knew how to do something without being taught. However, I had a question for Harry. "If you have liked me since earlier in this year, why did you not ask me to be your girlfriend earlier instead of waiting until I got hurt?"

Harry didn't immediately answer my question, but took a few seconds to think, chewing on his lip which I recognized as his trait of how to tell when he is trying to figure out the answer to a question. "Well... I, uh, thought that you and ..Ron were... well, I thought that you liked him instead of me."

"Oh, Harry. Me and Ron, really? Why would you think that? I have never liked Ron. He is an immature brat that has the emotional range of a teaspoon that thinks of nothing besides himself and his stomach. I am not even remotely attracted to him. What would make you think that I liked him, or would consider being with him?"

"Well, because you two are always fighting and bickering. You are always correcting him and trying to getting him to be nicer and think about others. You never do that to me, so I thought that maybe it was because you liked Ron more."

I did not know what to think, or how to answer that, and I was very concerned. "You thought that I liked Ron because we are always fighting? I fought with him because he does not like me, and he thinks that I am good for nothing but for him to cheat off of. He has not liked me since we met on the train. I am always correcting him to try to get him to be more polite and to think of how other's feel. I think though that he just doesn't care about anyone else besides himself."

"Oh, sorry Hermione. I didn't know. My uncle is always yelling at my aunt, and although I don't think that it is right how he treats her I thought that it was normal behavior. I mean, look at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, she is always scolding the kids and Mr. Weasley. I have never gotten to see any other married couples so I didn't know. See what I mean, I am going to be a bad boyfriend." Harry started to get up and turn away, but I stopped him.

"Harry, you are not going to be a bad boyfriend. You realized that it is not right how your aunt and uncle treat each other, which means that you know it is not the right way for a couple to act. I think that the best thing to help you is if you spend some time at my house this summer with me and my parents. That way we can spend time together, and you can watch me parents and see how they interact. I am sure that my parents wouldn't mind spending time with you, teaching you about relationships." I could tell that Harry liked that idea, but still seemed unsure. I decided then that Harry was going to spend the summer at my house, and was not going back to his relatives. He needed to know that it was not normal for couples to fight and argue, but show affection. I got Harry to sit back down beside me so we could continue talking, to help him understand the correct way for a couple to act. "Have I ever treated you the same way that I treat Ron, do I fight with you and then spend weeks not talking to you?"

Harry took a few minutes to think before answering. "No, you have always been by my side, even when no one else was. You might fuss at me if I don't get my homework done or when I am being stupid, but we have never actually been in a fight. You and Ron spend a couple weeks every year not talking, but we have never done that. When I need help with my homework, you don't let me copy but instead try to help me understand the material. "

"That is right. The reason I treat you differently than Ron is because you are my best friend and I have liked you for a long time. Ron on the other hand I tolerate, because he is your friend and I didn't want to take away one of your friends. Actually, I think that the only reason Ron is your friend is because you are famous and wealthy, but you still are friends with him so I will deal with him as long as needed. Speaking of Ron, where is he?"

"Oh, he is at home with Mrs. Weasley. He apparently got tangled up in some brains that were in a tank at the Ministry. The brains have caused some minor burns on his arms, but he got sent home because the brains affected his brain. In the day he was at the school before Professor Dumbledore requested Mr. and Mrs. Weasley come pick up Ron, he picked a fight with about half the school. He insulted Malfoy and got sent to the hospital wing after getting hit with curses from the Slytherins. Professor Dumbledore said that the brains at the ministry were real brains of humans and other animals and were being studied by the Unspeakables in an attempt to reverse memory damage. The brains were in contact with Ron long enough to cause his brain to be confused. He said it was temporary, and could cause some behavior problems so Ron was sent home to allow him to recuperate in peace."

I did not know whether to laugh or be concerned. Ron already has attitude and behavior problems so I am glad he is gone if they are worse. But, if his mind was affected, shouldn't he have been sent to St. Mungo's instead? I will never understand the wizarding world. I would want to be under a doctor's care if my brain was affected, but apparently that was not the normal wizarding attitude. At least I would not have to deal with Ron and his idiotic ideas until term started again in September, especially if I bring Harry home with me and we stay away from the Burrow.

"Harry, can I borrow Hedwig to send my parents a message please? I would really like you to come home with me this summer, and I am going to ask them if they mind you coming over."

"You know I am not allowed to leave Privet Drive. Dumbledore says I have to stay there because of the blood wards. Remember, he makes me go there every summer, even though I always ask him if I can stay elsewhere. He says I have to stay there until my birthday to make sure the wards charge."

I was puzzled. "Harry, I would like to write Bill also, if you don't mind. Wards were seventh year NEWT material, because they are so advanced. However, I started some preliminary research on them the week before because I was interested in them. Blood wards are looked down upon because they create a drain on the person whose blood it draws upon. They were used more often in the times of Merlin, before it was known the effects of the blood wards. I would like to ask Bill if he knows anymore about blood wards, and also ask him if he can look at the wards that are on Privet Drive. I think that either Dumbledore created a blood ward that is still active and causing a drain on your magic, which could have been the bind that broke, or that there are no wards up and he just wants you to go back there because none of the Death Eaters know the location. I don't like either idea, so I would like both of us to meet with Charlie and have him answer our questions, if you don't mind. Until we meet with him though, I think that you should come home with me. It is wrong for Dumbledore to send you back there, knowing how your relatives treat you."

"I hadn't ever wondered about the wards. I guess it wouldn't hurt to write Bill and ask if he wouldn't mind to talk to us and look at the wards. I also wouldn't mind not going back to the Dursleys, but how are we going to keep Dumbledore from finding out that I went home with you? "

"Let me worry about the planning, I have a better mind than you when it comes to that sort of thing. You normally get us in trouble and try to kill us when I let you make the plans. For now, we will just pretend that we are going home to our own houses like every summer past." That seemed to take care of Harry's concerns, so I had him get me some paper and a quill so I could write to my parents and Bill. By the time I finished writing the letters it was lunchtime and also time for Madam Pomphrey to bring me my normal potions. We had decided while I was writing the letters that we were only going to tell my parents that we were together. Harry was afraid that Voldemort would use me to get to him, like he did Sirius. We decided that we also did not want the Prophet finding out yet, so we would keep it quiet from the school until term resumed in the fall. As Madam Pomphrey came in with my lounch and potions, Harry left to eat lunch himself and to give Hedwig the letters.


End file.
